Motives for Participating in Sharing Economy: Intentions to Use Car Sharing Services

Motives for Participating in Sharing Economy: Intentions to Use Car Sharing Services

Purpose – Sharing economy is a promising research topic as a complementary approach for solving difficult issues resulting from market economy. Motive factors for consumer participation in sharing economy are necessary to facilitate the growth of sharing economy. This study analyzes motives for participating in sharing economy using samples from a car sharing service in South Korea. Research design, data, and methodology – Four hypotheses drawn from a new research model integrating the relationships between economic and social value, social value, and the intention to use sharing economy services were proposed. 292 valid samples were collected from Socar users in South Korea. Multiple regression analysis was employed to test the hypotheses. Results - An empirical study identified the importance of convenience and time savings as determinants of intention to use continuously a car sharing service. Cost savings and social value did not significantly influence the intention to use car sharing service. Conclusions - The present study implies that managers working in sharing economy don’t have to miss a role of convenience. Although a new finding implies that convenience is an important factor influencing car sharing service, the present study has a limitation of generality that samples are mostly collected from the age range of 20 to 30 years.